Tuning the microstructure of cellulosic porous materials: foams, cryogels and aerogels

Tuning the microstructure of cellulosic porous materials: foams, cryogels and aerogels | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Tuning the microstructure of cellulosic porous materials: foams, cryogels and aerogels Jorge Pérez-Ochando, Miguel Sánchez-Soto, Isaac Benito-González This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6717313/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The massive use of plastic materials derived from fossil fuels and their consequent environmental accumulation have driven the search for more sustainable alternatives. Among them, biopolymer-based materials such as cellulose stand out, as they are not only abundant and renewable but also readily available from lignocellulosic waste, promoting a circular economy. This study analyses porous structures derived from vine shoots’ waste biomass, specifically foams and aerogels obtained via freeze-drying and supercritical CO 2 drying. Parameters such as density (15-70 mg/cm 3 ), shrinkage (15-75%), microstructure (wide range of pore sizes up to 3 µm, surface area up to 67 m 2 /g), mechanical strength (up to 37 N/cm 2 ), and thermal conductivity (29-36 mW/mK) were evaluated to determine the most optimal ones in terms of performance and cost-effectiveness. Finally, the efficiency of polylactic acid (PLA) as a reinforcement was examined to improve the hydrophobicity and sorption capacity (between 5-20 g water/g in sorption capacity measurements) and mechanical strength (up to 6-fold) of the materials, making them more competitive in various applications. Cellulose Aerogels foams porosity PLA vine shoots Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryinformationCellulose.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 11 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 11 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 29 May, 2025 First submitted to journal 21 May, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6717313","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":469906504,"identity":"aba269d6-efde-4b87-b543-7a31cb061623","order_by":0,"name":"Jorge Pérez-Ochando","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jorge","middleName":"","lastName":"Pérez-Ochando","suffix":""},{"id":469906505,"identity":"626d4fd3-87fe-4b6b-898c-fc8b0720e229","order_by":1,"name":"Miguel Sánchez-Soto","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Miguel","middleName":"","lastName":"Sánchez-Soto","suffix":""},{"id":469906506,"identity":"32c26664-7762-4271-89b6-623d0e6e0f8c","order_by":2,"name":"Isaac Benito-González","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Aerofybers Technologies SL","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Isaac","middleName":"","lastName":"Benito-González","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-21 14:08:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6717313/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6717313/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":94729709,"identity":"0406fa36-f20e-4b18-9d0c-41aceaa7e314","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-30 07:05:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1247629,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FoamscryogelsandaerogelsDEFwfunding.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6717313/v1_covered_3337416f-6964-4ab2-89d9-52315073deff.pdf"},{"id":94699519,"identity":"9a9c4200-96cd-4cb0-867c-1480a13804a1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-29 19:13:22","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":280318,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryinformationCellulose.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6717313/v1/256ce26b92cde30bb459a691.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Tuning the microstructure of cellulosic porous materials: foams, cryogels and aerogels","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"cellulose","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"cels","sideBox":"Learn more about [Cellulose](https://www.springer.com/journal/10570)","snPcode":"10570","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10570/3","title":"Cellulose","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Cellulose, Aerogels, foams, porosity, PLA, vine shoots","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6717313/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6717313/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe massive use of plastic materials derived from fossil fuels and their consequent environmental accumulation have driven the search for more sustainable alternatives. 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